India-based multinational steel producer Tata Steel, which is Europe’s second-largest steel supplier, announced in January that it would open its new £11-million state-of-the-art heavy-gauge hot-rolled decoiling line in Llanwern, South Wales.

Part of a steel service centre with a hot-rolled processing capability of 270 000 t/y, this new line is the largest in Europe in terms of capability and quality, providing ample capacity to meet customer requirements now and in the future.

The new decoiling line will provide steel with superior sheet flatness for a range of construction and earthmoving equipment and materials handling sector applications, including backhoe loaders, excavators, wheel rim products and chassis components.

Tata’s Ympress high-strength low-alloy steel, which delivers weight savings and increased component strength, as well as the company’s DD13WR, a wheel rim product with improved manufacturability, are two of the products that will be processed on this line.

Tata Steel notes that the lifting and excavating sector is showing increased interest in higher-strength steels for use in demanding applications such as booms and cranes, with steelmakers looking to develop stronger products.

The company’s new decoiling line will enable it to process products up to 1 600 Newtons/mm2 – the first in Europe with this capacity. This means the investment will be able to handle prospective steel product developments in the future.

The development amalgamates Tata Steel’s existing decoiling facilities, which were spread over several sites in the UK, into a single facility at Llanwern’s hot strip mill, where the product is manufactured.

The new equipment uses a range of technologies to provide the best product quality. Three stages of levelling technology are used to ensure the sheet steel is as flat as possible and that any residual stress is removed. This is followed by surface brushing and extraction tools, which ensure the steel is as clean as possible.

These processes, combined with a supply of coil that has been transported and stored under cover, provides a superior and more consistent surface appearance, resulting in a reduction of postfabrication surface preparation before final painting to simplify the processing costs.

The new decoiling line has two 8.5 m stacker beds, which can be used independently or together to give a total length capability of 17 m. This provides customers with the opportunity to buy longer-length products to limit pack changeover downtime. The ability to handle sheets of up to 17 m helps equipment manufacturers and processors improve their efficiency, significantly improving the number of parts that can be cut from one sheet of steel.

This new line enables Tata Steel to support customers looking to produce much larger items, such as trailers, lampposts and towers. Since larger parts can be produced in one piece, the need for plate joining and fabrication is reduced, increasing the strength of the products and making them easier to manufacture.

The new facility is served by a direct rail link allowing for coil feedstock that is not produced at Llanwern to be brought in directly to the service bay and for the bulk dispatch of cut sheets/sheeting.

The new line, which has been operational since September 2014, was designed by Italian metal strip cutting line manufacturer Fimi.

“This is the first line we have installed in the UK that can deal with thicknesses of up to 25 mm,” says Fimi commissioning and services manager Antonio Scuderi, adding that it is the biggest and most powerful line that the company has ever installed.

“The power of the machine and the exceptional stiffness of the levellers ensure an industry-leading quality level,” he adds.

Further, Tata Steel lifting and excavating head Phil Clements notes a strong trend in the lifting and excavating sector for higher-strength steels, particularly for demanding applications such as booms and cranes.

He adds that the new decoiling line will enable Tata to process its products to customers’ needs for years to come.

“While this new facility offers an increase in capacity, our focus is on operating more efficiently – not simply supplying more. Having our decoiling facility located next to the hot-strip mill and exploiting our direct rail connection to service customers further from our hub, means we can guarantee timely supply and reduce the environmental impact of handling the steel at the same time.

“We look forward to welcoming our customers to the new site to demonstrate the benefits this investment will offer them,” he concludes.

About Tata Steel’s European Operations
Tata Steel has steelmaking operations in the UK and Netherlands, as well as manufacturing plants across Europe. The company supplies products and services to the most demanding markets, including the construction, automotive, packaging, rail, lifting and excavating, energy and power, and aerospace sectors.

The Tata Steel group is one of the world’s largest steel producers, with a steel capacity of 29-million tons and 80 000 employees across four continents.